Wake of the Dead | Two

Chapter Fifteen | Jasper

A soft, distressed crying forced Jasper to open his eyes. It took a few split seconds for him to process everything that had happened in the past few hours, but when he came to, Jasper forced himself to sit up. Sharp pains where his fresher wounds ripped across his skin made the man wince as he stood up shakily onto his feet. To his dismay, nobody had been keeping watch. At first the annoyance hit him, but he could try to make himself understand. These people were exhausted, and the building was relatively secure. Making a deal of things would only cause issues among the patrol. 

The quiet shuffling came from a nearby corner, where Killian was curled up, asleep. The younger man's brows were furrowed, his muscles shuddering as a bad dream plagued his sleep. Carefully, Jasper made his way over and knelt down beside the other man. The distress in Killian's sleeping expression made Jasper's heart ache. As gently as he could, he set a hand on Killian's shoulder and nudged him. The other man awoke with a sharp jolt, sitting upright. A cold sweat broke out across his forehead, his breathing a soft pant. Killian's hazel eyes were brimmed with nothing but terror, widened and darting all around the room. 

"It's okay," Jasper said immediately in an attempt to soothe Killian before he could accidentally wake the others. "It's okay," He added, more soothing this time as things seemed to even out and Killian calmed a little. "It was just a night terror. You're alright." Jasper insisted. He picked up his old jacket off of the ground, setting it around Killian's shoulders. The other man just nodded silently, pressing his face against the fabric and taking a deep, shaky breath. 

What had startled Killian so terribly? Well, nightmares were common now, Jasper knew that. But he'd never seen Killian sit bolt upright and ready to sock somebody across the jaw so abruptly. Whatever it was, Jasper hoped that Killian was alright. As the other man calmed down, Killian managed to talk. His voice was shaky as he said, "You woke me up." His lips cracked into a big yawn. The sun was just beginning to rise as light poured in through the bar window, brightening Killian's eyes to a golden color and making the chestnut tint to his brown curls more noticeable. Jasper could even spot a few freckles dotting along Killian's nose and cheeks. 

Admittedly a bit guilty, Jasper could only shrug for his defense and offer, "You were having a bad dream." Rubbing the back of his neck, Jasper avoided looking Killian in the eyes by turning to glance at Aubrey, Chris and Harley. "I didn't like hearing you so distressed...I don't ever want to hear you like that. So I woke you up." There was a silence hanging, suspended in the air. It was only broken when Killian sighed, and headbutted Jasper on the shoulder playfully. Without thinking Jasper ran his fingers through Killian's soft curls. He was going to stop, but then heard a more content sigh from Killian, rather than annoyed. 

After a few moments, Killian pulled away first. "Okay," He relented, "We need to get going soon. Wash your shirt off as best as you can--I'm sure there's bound to be some sort of soap behind the bar over there." 

Amused, Jasper replied with a simple, "Yes, sir." He snatched his bloody t-shirt off of the floor and smuggled a bottle of water from his bag as he headed over behind the bar. With the patrol stirring awake, they would have to get moving as soon as possible. There was no telling if any other groups would be out and about during the early morning, and if any might already know about the bar. Jasper already made a risky bargain choosing to camp there for the night, but he wasn't going to make the mistake of keeping everybody camped in one spot for too long. 

The bloodstain on the shirt never completely washed out, but with some scrubbing of soap and whatever water was left in the bottle, Jasper managed to get the blood out of the fabric enough to wear it again. Slipping it over his head, the dampness of the washed shirt was uncomfortable, but he'd manage. There was no room for being picky in the world anymore. When he stalked his way back over to Killian and the other three, Jasper forced a small smile onto his lips. He couldn't show them just how much pain he was actually in. If a group was going to be strong, their leader needed to be even stronger.